


Stargazing

by stellamedii



Series: Modern [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Main character has an eating disorder, Main character has schizoaffective disorder, Takes place in New Serene from Greedfall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:47:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26125981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellamedii/pseuds/stellamedii
Summary: Just a small trip to stargaze with friends.
Series: Modern [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2164965
Kudos: 5





	Stargazing

Ventus tiptoed against the hard-wooden floor of his home, careful not to wake either of his slumbering siblings nor his dozed off father. Getting by undetected wasn’t exactly a hard task as he’d done it just about nightly. The only challenge was not talking to his spirit. Perhaps that meant he should learn sign language. 

_ “You know you can just communicate with me through your thoughts right?”  _ The spirit, currently in the form of Ava (It’s apparent default state) informed. 

“Where’s the fun in that?” The child smiled brightly at her. To further his agenda of merriment, he shifted his walk from tiptoeing to pretending he was walking along a tightrope. Ventus’ arms eased out to his sides while his gaze fixated towards the invisible line on the ground that not even he could see. Step by step, he wandered along what wasn’t there, and what he was glad wasn’t really true. He doubted he’d manage through a real tightrope after all. He’d have to be saved much like Constantin. That did give him an idea for him and his friend however. At a later time though, as for now he had to get to the door that was knocked upon.

_ “Why are you being so cautious anyway? The knock on the door would have alerted everyone before you walking would have.” _ Ava tried to reason. 

Again, the blond whined aloud.

“But that wouldn’t be fun.” 

She wanted to explain how he needed to learn what sneaking was, but failed to manage as he finally made his slow stride to the front door. Immediately throwing away what little he’d gained from easing cautiously around corners and through corridors, Ven flung the door open and beamed

“Hi, Tya!”

The girl recoiled back from the loud greeting on instinct. As it was rather common however, she was able to make a pretty quick recovery. Easing back towards the door in stance, she brought her hand up to pull up on her scarf. Her face now covered and warmed by the soft fabric, she spoke.

“Hello, Ventus.” 

Her voice was strained to keep it’s calm, though only his spirit caught onto that along with her similar body language. What Ven noticed was the ever so blatant and familiar picnic basket she held in her hands. His eyes lit up upon seeing the accessory, and his gaze shot up to her with all the excitement that rocked his now ecstatic form. 

“You found a new spot?!”

Her nervous state shuddered her body a mere second as she was caught. Within moments however, she was calmed to a more docile status, in which she nodded.

“Yes. I think it is one you would enjoy.”

As if he hadn’t already been enthused enough, that prospect, albeit an obvious one, left him bouncing up and down on his toes with absolute joy. His utter merriment only came to a halt as one question came to mind. 

Stilled with cautious curiosity, though only shortly, he looked around her, leaning from side to side and even standing on his toes and tilting his head up as if that would help him see past her. It didn’t, and he was forced back down in defeat.

“Is Constantin not coming with us?” The child whined perhaps a bit too loudly. It was no wonder his family had to wear earplugs to sleep. Not that he ever found out. Ven was a bit too in his own head to ever realize such a thing. A,d Ava wasn’t about to tell him and ruin all his fun though. 

Unaware of the spirit’s internal musings, Tya stiffened at the mention of their governor. Her hand once more pressed her scarf to her face, though this time to obscure her reddening visage. 

Being the only of their pair to notice, Ava smiled softly. She refrained from shifting to Luxu despite the pull she felt on her form. The last thing she needed was for Ventus to get caught up in her more risque thoughts and perform even worse. This was supposed to be a nice picnic, not a frisky one night stand like their shared friend and governor was much too accustomed to. 

To veer from those less savory activities, the spirit cleared her throat with a fist held up to cover her mouth on instinct. Both humans immediately gave her their attention. And with it, she motioned out the door and passed their guest.

“Shall we get going?”

A bit childishly, Ven squirmed with displeasure, hands clenched into fists while he stomped lightly against the floor.

“But what about Constantin?” He tried again. “We can’t just leave him out can we?” 

Seeing her press her scarf more firmly against herself, Ava sighed. She then offered her host a smile as she ushered him out of the house.

“Maybe you should scout it out first and then decide whether our very busy governor should visit with us.” 

The wording brought a look of offense from the fire mage as she narrowed her eyes at Ava. The most she’d received in return was an apologetic smile. She could have done more to actually apologize for making the trip seem like a chore, but neither of them wanted the possibility of setting the hyper child off and forcing him into a bout of hostility and paranoia. They lucked out however as he regained his jovial and bouncy demeanor. 

The boy grabbed them both by the arm, leaving Tya to relinquish that hand’s hold on the basket lest he force the contents overboard. It was left to instead swing behind them as Ventus dragged them along at full speed. However, as he wasn’t the one who found the spot to begin with, it didn’t take long for the girls towed behind him to pull against him, insisting he stop a moment. While he was strong, he wasn’t exactly capable of moving two forces pulling against him. 

With impatient aggravation, the child was forced to a huffing stop. He spun on his heel and crossed his arms to more properly pout at them. 

He’d opened his mouth to complain only to be cut off with a quicker explanation. 

“You don’t even know where you’re going.” Ava informed to which Ventus loosened his hold on himself and donned a bit of an absent look. Almost immediately, a red hue tinted his visage and he ducked his head. It didn’t help much in the form of hiding however as both girls chuckled at his embarrassed state. 

Continuing on passed him, Tya took the lead while Ava followed. A wink was given to her host as she waved him along.

“Let’s not get left behind.”

Said host huffed at the usurp for leadership. As it was technically necessary for them to reach their goal though, he couldn’t truly be mad. And that showed as a bright smile graced his face when he ran the short distance to catch up to Tya and Ava. 

He didn’t stop there however. Instead, Ventus continued his sprint passed them, leaving the pair to watch with feigned exhaustion as the child ran forward and back with boundless energy. He huffed as his stamina began to dwindle, but even then he kept with his jogging, nearly even forcing himself to push beyond his limits while the other two took on a more casual stroll down, then off of the path. 

“Ven, you’re going to make yourself sick if you run too much.” Ava scolded lightly. She then motioned back to herself and Tya. “Why don’t you stick with us and rest a bit since you still don’t know where we’re going.”

“Good.” The boy just about spat as a simple response. 

Knowing full well his reasonings for pushing himself in such a way, the two girls sighed. Ava then looked to the current head of their group.

“So how much farther is it?”

“Not too much.”

Ava was allowed a breath of relief as her eyes fell back on her host, who was now breathing much more hoarsely. The thought to scold and advise him once more came to mind, but he’d already hunched over to gag. One hand of his held him up with the assistance of the mountain they’d begun trekking up. The other was draped protectively around his stomach as he heaved. His more freed hand soon moved up. Knowing full well what Ventus was up to, the spirit kicked herself into action and rushed over to him. 

Immediately, she grabbed his hand and ripped it away from him and towards herself, earning her a whine of offense from the boy. 

“You’re fine.” The spirit insisted firmly. Rather than accept her words, Ven whined once more. Before he could get an argument in, Ava continued, motioning off to Tya to aid in her reasoning. “Just try to relax and enjoy what view she found for you today.”

Her grip eased along with his and he begrudgingly nodded with a sigh.

“Fine, but I don’t have to eat anything.”

“Only if you don’t want to.”

Both parties smiled at the deal, both with their own satisfaction. With them in agreement, Ava relinquished her hold on Ven and he pushed himself away from his support. 

Tya walked up to them then and asked

“Are we all ready to continue?” She looked to the head of their path, causing both to follow suit. What they found themselves looking at was a little odd. It was a cave instead of the outlook they’d assume they were heading. 

Neither were allowed a word in before Tya finished with a statement and marched onwards.

“We’re almost there after all.”

Confused, the host and spirit shared a look of such before simply following their guide. They weren’t concerned or frightened in the slightest as Tya was a good friend on theirs. If anything, they were simply perplexed by the oddity of their location. Perhaps she mixed up who she was truly supposed to be guiding, maybe it was supposed to be Constantin or Amelia but she grabbed them in a lapse of judgement. Now maybe she was too embarrassed by her slip up to tell the truth and they were all going to be left in a bit of awkward tension.

To break the already forming tense atmosphere, Ven pulled up another smile, just about disregarding his near acts of bulimia.

“Caves are fun too.” He insisted, though his disappointment of being away from the already shown stars was a bit obvious in both his tone and the way he bit into his lower lip. 

“Aren’t caves kinda wet though?” His companion questioned.

The blond tilted his head up in thought with one hand as he thought it over.

“I… think so?” He tried before straightening and returning to his previously jovial state. “Maybe it just depends on the cave and this one’s dry as a bone.”

Chuckling at his phrasing, she shook her head.

“I don’t think that’s the phrase but maybe you’re right.” Her gaze shifted once more to their tour guide. “I doubt she’d want to have a picnic in a damp cave.”

“I can’t say I’d like to have a picnic in any cave.” Tya remarked knowingly from the front.

“S-So this isn’t what we’re here for?” Ventus question with a needless gesture towards their current surroundings.

“Not quite.”

“What are we here for then?”

“Be patient and you’ll see soon enough?”

That wasn’t exactly the answer he was hoping for as patience wasn’t really his forte’. Whenever his spirit chose Ira’s form, he typically fell on the more wrathful side than the virtuous. That fact did make him wonder if he ever chose the lighter side of his guardian’s influence. Counting on his fingers, he mumbled

“Always wrath, gluttony, slothfulness, envy, pride, greed, and-” The boy paused then, a finger pressed against the seven counted out. “Actually, I’m not very lustful so I manage one out of seven of them.” 

His pride on the matter was short lived as Ava commented

“One out of seven isn’t good. Besides, you never get the chance because I refuse to be Luxu for that particular reason. So if anything, we’ve both just barred you from the possibility by distracting you with other ones. Ones which you fall for far too easily.”

Hopes of competence dashed, Ventus slouched forward with defeat and uttered out

“No wonder no one wants to befriend me. I’m nothing but a walking sin.”

“I think that’s more my status. You just get influenced by me too easily.”

Shaking his head, he countered

“You’re usually the virtuous side. I always fall on the sinful side.”

Ava offered him a small smile. Both girls stopped their progress for the spirit to turn her attention fully onto Ventus. She cupped her hands around his chin, allowing her fingers to fall against his cheeks.

“You’re only a kid, Ven, you have your whole life to figure out what you align with.”

Of course it was preferred that he strayed from the sinful path he was currently headed, but she had to show some faith if he was ever going to avoid it. To further her assurance too, she offered him a warm smile accompanied by a comforting pat on the shoulder. Seeing as he began to smile, she assumed her attempts were a success. 

“Well I’m going to try to be likeable starting now!” The child beamed.

It wasn’t exactly a good statement or resolve, but she was happy to hear it nonetheless, and that showed with her weakened smile.

To move things along a bit and off of his self-deprecation, Ava swung her arm out to motion once more to the head of their lead. Nothing more was needed to be said as Ven nodded and ran after Tya while his spirit chose a simple stroll as they weren’t far from one another. 

Hopping up and down with perhaps too much energy even for a child, Ventus asked with just as much enthusiasm

“Are we almost there?”

With a warm and patient smile, Tya once more informed

“Soon.”

Hearing the same answer spouted at him again left him to pout. It wasn’t genuine offense however as he still sported a smile. And before long, he was hopping up and down and tugging at Tya’s arm to get her to hurry. Both girls merely chuckled at his enthusiasm before falling in line to head out.

The youngest continued bounding around, running every which way only to return to their side just as quickly as he’d left it. If he didn’t, he’d more than likely get lost after all. His example of abundant energy lasted a few more minutes before they'd at last reached their destination. Thanks to a quick reaction from his spirit, Ventus was saved from a plummet out of the large hole in the mountain's side. 

Rather than fret about nearly committing acidental suicide, he was left to wonder when they’d traversed a moutain. He remembered the cave, but not the escalation. Or maybe they were already higher up and this just showed them the view? That seemed likely, especially given how he wasn’t aware of their surroundings having been sheltered. 

That just made this trip all the more amazing.

Donning a wide and bright smile, Ven pulled from Ava and went once more towards the opened edge. He didn’t overstep the boundary this time, instead stood on the line between life and death. To better support him, he latched a gripping hand along the hole’s side and swung out a bit dangerously. Ignoring his nearly deadly state, Ventus held his free hand to his head, palm flat and pressed on its side just above his eyes to shield from a sun that wasn’t there.

“This is amazing!” The child exclaimed with joy and awe. 

The two behind him shared a smile, nodding to one another before taking a seat next to him and letting their legs dangle along the ledge. 

Looking out at the sea of stars above, Ava smiled a bit wider and turned her attention to Ven.

“Looks like a clear sky. See any constellations, Ven?”

He looked taken aback for just a moment before a bright smile returned to his visage. Just as he had before, he looked out to the sky with the look of a captain sailing along the oceans to new lands. 

Looking upon the stars nightly from his bedroom window allowed him to pick out a few figures and stories with ease. Tracing along one with his finger pointed to the sky and dragging along the air, Ven mouthed out a word. After a moment of finishing his outlining, he smiled widely and cheerily stated

“Centaurus.” He paused there with wonder of whether or not he should continue. Looking back at them, they weren’t saying otherwise. If anything, they looked a bit expectant as they began their set up of their little picnic. Despite that realization, Ven still failed to continue, leaving his spirit to nod and say

“Go on. Tell us about it.” 

The child just about lit up at the confirmation. His attention once more set on the stars he’d outlined before speaking up. Clearing his throat, Ventus changed his tone to a more instructing type to fit a tour guide’s while the other two unpacked the picnic and set up for them all..

“I doubt I have to describe a centaur to you guys, but! I’ll do it anyway since that’s what a guide would do!” The child began. 

Once more, he traced along the constellation as he started to speak.

“A centaur is a half bull (or horse), half man hybrid.” Motioning widely to the chosen set of stars, he continued onward “We don’t know for sure which centaur centaurus is about, but it could be a grand one like Chiron, a wonderfully wise one that mentored so many greek heroes!” The boy beamed only to calm immediately after and nearly scoff with annoyance. 

“Unless you want to put Chiron as the representation of Sagittarius like most anyway. Then it’s just a random centaur sacrificing an animal.” 

HIs sudden change in tone brought a sigh from Ava. She failed to speak to him before he continued on however which she figured was probably for the best.

“This one’s Virgo.” Ven traced a second one out. The way he spoke was much like how he’d spoken of Sagittarius; quick and uninterested. “Everyone knows about that because they use them to justify their actions and behaviours despite knowing nothing about them.” It wasn’t by much, but something as special as the stars and earth should’ve been regarded as sacred, not used as parlour tricks to take people’s money and as he already stated, justify actions.

As such though, he continued on to point out a different one. Just as he was naming it, Ava stepped in.

“You know you can inform us about it at least.”

Whining, Ven countered

“But you already know about all these because you’re the one who told me.”

“Yes, but Tya doesn’t know, and I’m sure she’d like to.” Looking over to the blonde adding a small flame to a candle with her hand, she replied

“If you’d be so kind.” Pulling back from the finished set up, she added, “Also, the picnic is ready whenever you are.”

“Can I not eat and not talk about Virgo?”

“Wouldn’t you like people to be informed?”

He stalled then, grimacing as he thought it over. She was right, especially considering he’d essentially just stated that so with a begrudging groan, he forced out a “Fine.”

Eyes once more fixated on the overrated and bastardized constellation, Ven took in a deep breath to ease himself into speaking about it. Even then, he spoke quickly and dully as if still rushing on the subject.

“Virgo is said to be associated with the Greek Goddess of Justice, Dike. She ruled over human justice despite not being represented by the scales of justice like Libra.” With his free hand, he waved that bit off. “Anyway, she felt the human race was beyond help because they all disregarded the gods and started war among themselves so she left to stay in the heavens instead.”

When his quick rundown was through, Ava sighed to which he countered

“What? All I didn’t say was what Virgo’s tend to be like or what a Virgo’s future is.”

“I guess.” She replied in defeated. Much like him, she waved him on. “What’s next?”

With residual disdain for the horrible sign, he looked back to the stars. He scanned along them only to grimace. As there was no others left aside from the worst, Ven shook his head.

“That’s the last one.”

His spirit opened her mouth to point out the one left, however seeing which it was brought her to clam up. With both of their reactions and gazes, Tya followed their eyes to a distinct box like one with a tail. She pointed to it, and asked

“Is that not one?”

Cringing, Ventus turned to look up to where she was pointing. Sure enough, it was at the one he liked even less than the hyped up ones. With a grimace, he stepped down from the ledge and towards them. While he hated the idea of eating, he couldn’t respond if his mouth was full. Besides, he could go for some comfort food right about now.

“Is it not?” Their lead of the group repeated just as he’d grabbed a muffin from the basket. He cringed once more, teeth gritting and hands clenching. Ava felt for the poor baked treat being crushed in his hand.

The youthful blond still took pity on the muffin by scarfing it down to avoid speaking. Or at least, speaking well. The sad excuse he’d given was poor considering his speech’s current handicap. 

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” The woodland spirit sighed. She understood. She did. That didn’t mean she condoned such distasteful behaviour.

“Sorry…” He mumbled out, disheartened by his own apparent failures. 

As he began nibbling desperately into a new treat, his spirit was left to try again. 

“There’s nothing for you fret about.” She insisted gently and he faltered momentarily. “You’re fine.” With her continuation, he was able to cease. Unfortunately, he did find food to be evil once more, leaving him to rather rudely discard the new and merely bitten into muffin. 

Seeing him disregard a gift from their friend, who he still chose to ignore on top of his most recent injustice, Ava took in a deep breath to keep calm. He could be a handful, yes, but even this was a bit much for him. How Tya could be friends with him was beyond her. The only reason she herself still stuck by such a spoiled child was thanks to the bond forged between them. Speaking of the fire mage, how was she faring over his horrid behavior?

Looking over to the blonde showed a neutral expression, though her eyes did long on discarded treat. Rather angered by the sudden betrayal on her host’s part, Ava took revenge, and with it, Ira’s form. In his now deepened and masculine voice, the unicorn masked spirit pointed to the constellation of Corvus and spoke its name much to Ventus’ dismay. 

Fueled by both his own version of betrayal, as well as simply taking in his spirit’s wrathful influence, Ven scowled at the mention. He opened his mouth to scold her only to take in the hurt expression of their shared host of the evening. His own demeanor faltered, shifting from one of rage to hurt of his own. 

Calming, Ventus fell to his knees in defeat, allowing Ira to calm as well. With his change in mood, the spirit was allowed the more virtuous side of his new form. And with that, the attempt to let Ven learn from it. For once he seemed to manage as he stayed calmed and even traced out the last constellation from his warmed spot on the ground, heated thanks to the unseen efforts from their original guide.

“Corvus.” The boy repeated rather dully. 

Hearing it again and without the venomous tone, Tya immediately understood his dismay of the remaining constellation. 

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” She said. Her words were backed by his solemned companion. Regardless of their attempts and efforts, he continued on.

“Corvus is said to be either a raven or a crow.” He carried on with hesitation. “Its said that it was originally a white feathered bird to the god Apollo. Corvus was instructed to watch over one of Apollo’s loves, but she fell out of love with him, and went to another. Apollo was enraged by the bird’s failure to stop her and so he scorched Corvus’ feathers, turning them black.” 

He finished then, dully tracing the constellations boxy and tailed shape against the rocks at his feet.

“Why is it that the one in your head shares the name of that bird?” Tya suddenly asked. 

“It’s a puppet version of myself.” Ven began. “No matter what I do, nothing’s good enough for my family and all I’m left with is more scars on an imperfect body.” A finger glided beneath his sleeved arms to feel at the bandaged coating. “That’s why I called it Corvus.”

“You named it?”

“Well yeah.” His tone picked up. “I didn’t want to call it myself. I hate looking at it and hearing it talk.” He looked her up and down for a reaction though continued on nonetheless. “Why would I want to associate myself with it?”

“Don’t you already?”

Ven was silenced then, thoughts reeling to think it over. He wasn’t given time however as he was offered a cookie from her, and from both a warm smile. After taking it from them, Tya responded

“No matter what you look like or what you do, we’ll always be there for you, Ven.”

He was allowed to gather the courage to smile back then, and even eat with just the tiniest bit of ease as they looked on at the stars once more.

**Author's Note:**

> A commission piece courtesy of my fiance. She wanted to write it herself, but she doesn't know what makes Ven tick so she asked me to write it since he's too unpredictable to write.
> 
> Ava was originally supposed to be a hallucination to Ven as usual, but she ended up becoming a nadaig that also happens to be his deceased mother, soulbound to him to protect him. Don't think of her as foreteller Ava like she started off as, she's much more her own character now and nothing like foreteller Ava.
> 
> Since Greedfall is the main verse I work in, no matter what verse it is, it still connects to their original lives in New Serene, I'd love to do more fics in that universe.


End file.
